Winter Olympics organizers confirm 24 more COVID cases

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - The organizers of the Beijing Olympics on Monday confirmed 24 new cases of the coronavirus among athletes, team officials, and other stakeholders.​​​​​​​

In a statement, the Beijing Organizing Committee said 142 "Olympic-related arrivals entered China at the airport, including 65 athletes and team officials and 77 other stakeholders."

"They took the airport PCR tests. After confirmatory tests, 11 confirmed positive cases had been notified," it said, adding that seven of these were athletes or team officials.

According to the statement, 13 confirmed positive cases had also been notified in the closed-loop during the same period, including five athletes and team officials.

The Beijing Organizing Committee also said that all Olympic-related personnel who arrived in China and Games staff were subject to closed-loop management, completely isolated from the general public in Beijing to prevent coronavirus infection.

The Winter Olympic Games will continue until Feb. 20, when the medal games and closing ceremony will take place.

Alpine skiing, curling, figure skating, ice hockey, ski jumping, snowboarding, and speed skating will be among the 15 disciplines featured in Beijing.

Nearly 3,000 athletes from 91 countries will compete in this year's Winter Olympics.